Book 1 - The Greatest Salesman in the World

This is my first finished book for 2022. If I am honest, I read most of this short book in the week between Christmas and New Year and then finished it in early January. It is not a long book, but certainly packs a lot of interesting storyline and information, about how to be an effective person but especially someone who is in sales or works with others. Someone on LinkedIn recently mentioned it was core reading for a Sales Academy she attended. 

I am not sure how I came across this book, but I think it was in a cleanup of the library at MHC Business Language Training, where I collaborate. In looking through my anti-library of unread books to search for titles for 2022, I came across this one. 

The book is by Og Mandino, who I later googled. He has written many titles, some of which follow the same storyline. They are written in parable form. In this story we learn about Hafid and his trusted assistant Erasmus and how Hafid created a vast fortune. It was due to the implementation of several scrolls, which contained essential wisdom, passed down to him from his Mentor. Hafid is entrusted to pass on the scrolls to a person who will present himself at the right time. There is a parallel with the arrival of Jesus, and perhaps Og Mandino also intended this book for a Christian Sales audience. The scrolls themselves reveal 10 tips for success in sales and perhaps more generally in life. Just to spoil it, they are:

1. I will form good habits and become their slave.
2. I will greet this day, with love in my heart.
3. I will persist until I succeed.
4. I am nature's greatest miracle.
5. I will live this day, as if it's my last.
6. Today, I will be master of my emotions.  
7. I will laugh at the world. Additionally, 'this too shall pass.'
8. Today, I will multiple my value one-hundred fold.
9. I will act now.
10. I will pray for guidance. 

I won't go into details about each of the 10 scrolls, but taken at face value, they are powerful. We hear a lot about habits, mindfulness, prayer, emotional intelligence and how to live life these days from many perspectives. This offers another, even simpler approach. The book was first published in 1968, at a time when self-development was perhaps still in its early days. Many I am sure have taken on the wise words of Og Mandino and gone further with them. I am plan to reflect and ponder each of the 10 ideals every couple of days when journalling in the early hours of the morning.  

How could you use these 10 maxims in your life? How would your life change if you followed these steps? Check out the book and let me know if you do read it and we have some a chat.